Falling For Asher

12

~*~

Melissa stares at us with an accusatory glare, stepping inside and closing the door roughly behind her. The look of betrayal on her face makes my stomach drop.

I step away from the Asher, making sure that we have a good amount of distance between us. "We were only talking." I defend, although it's pointless at this point.

Despite it being the truth, she's my best friend and she can tell that my feelings for him have shifted. It happened slowly and I could no longer hide it.

"Is this what friends do now?" She directs at me, "Even after what he did?" Her voice raises and the faint sound of music is drowned out for those seconds.

I look down in defeat, hearing the bed shift. "Why don't you tell her the truth?" Asher suggests, coming to stand next to me.

I glance up curiously, seeing her eye twitch. "Watch it, Asher." She growls.

He steps forward, "Tell her how you–"

"Don't forget about what I know." She sneers, causing him to roll his eyes.

He shakes his head in disbelief. Giving me a brief look and crossing his arms over his chest. The slight buzz I was feeling has disappeared and now I'm just confused.

He keeps his eyes trained on her, speaking in a calm tone. "It would be easier for us to move on from that. Why do you feel the need to keep us from being friends?"

My brows furrow but I brush his words off. Our friendship is obviously more important than a relationship. Baby steps, I have to keep that in mind.

Melissa flinches but hides it in a split second. "Because you rejected me, it's either me or no one."

That's dramatic, but I keep my mouth shut. I doubt that anything of what I say will help this situation. Melissa is incredibly stubborn and she does things her way.

"It won't hurt to end things here, Zoey needs to know what type of person you are."

She seems to have relaxed, shrugging. "Do what you want, but I'm not letting it go that easy." Her threat is heard loud and clear.

I stare at both, finally deciding to voice my thoughts. Addressing both but mainly Melissa. "I know what happened," I point out.

"She told you?" Ashers seems surprised but I only nod.

Until I notice how Melissa looks away. "You led her on and then you avoided her, right?" I skip the detail about how they hooked up.

His laugh is humorless and I stare at him while he runs a hand through his hair in distress.

"I guess she failed to mention drugging me and trying to get me to sleep with her. If Brody hadn't decided to drop by right then, who knows what would've happened." He shakes his head. "What kind of sick person tries to take advantage of someone like that? I said no when I was sober, that wasn't enough?"

I gape at her, feeling sick to my stomach. I spent two years of my life avoiding the wrong person and I feel like an idiot. Asher had to deal with this and losing one of his best friends, yet I sided with Melissa. Someone who I had known for a few months.

"Is that true?" I direct at her, wanting to hear her admit to such a delicate thing.

She holds no guilt, leaning against the wall and assessing her manicure. "Yes. Can I go now?" She's taunting us.

I feel my chest fill with anger. "You're actually sick."

Her lip curls up, eyeing me. "But who's rich, and prettier?" She laughs.

"It's all covering your personality." I deadpan, my hand finding Asher's. He squeezes it once in a comforting manner.

We turn to leave, making it to the door. Melissa watches us with a smug smile. She waves with four fingers, challenging us.

"I'll give you a second chance, Asher. Let me show you a good time and I won't share your sacred secret with the world."

He doesn't hesitate to open the door, our hands still intertwined. It shuts behind us where we make our way, past the drunk, sweaty bodies and through the front door. Instantly, I inhale the cold air, feeling like my lungs were closing.

I shiver from the breeze but worry more about the boy in front of me. "Are you okay?" I ask softly. He nods in response, breathing in deeply.

I sit on the swing hanging on the far side of the porch, patting the spot beside me. It reminds to the night that led to us talking again.

I hear him chuckle, making me smile slightly. "This feels familiar." He notes, wrapping an arm around me.

I lean my head on his shoulder with a content smile. At least the thing that was holding us back has now been semi-solved. Although Melissa still knows something huge and is willing to reveal the truth to everyone.

I feel Asher tense, deep in thought. I glance up to see his brows drawn together, I want to take his worry away and see his eyes lighten up. Like whenever he talks about music or his art. He becomes happy and he rambles and then apologizes although I like when he does that.

"I want to tell you everything before tomorrow morning, so you're not shocked." He suddenly says.

We pull away from each other and I give him all of my attention, shivering from the night air. Asher leans forward, his elbows resting in his knees.

"My mother had me when she was sixteen and still in high school." He starts, "Her parents were strict and gave her the option of getting rid of me for their support. She refused, so they kicked her out, which is how she ended up here where my parents hired her as a housekeeper."

I watch him close his eyes for a brief second, "They made sure that she was comfortable and even hired a teacher so that she could be homeschooled."

I squeeze his hand once causing him to smile although it doesn't reach his eyes.

"My biological mother became set on putting me up for adoption because she couldn't raise me on her own. She was around eight months when they all came to an agreement." He sighs, "It was done legally but they paid her a good amount of money so that she could find a place to live."

His eyes meet mine, "I have no idea who she is, Melissa found out because I was mad at my parents for not telling me and she was there when I was vulnerable." He explains.

I lift our intertwined hands, pressing a gentle kiss on his knuckles. We stay on the swing for a while before Asher calls an Uber and we get to my house. I don't want to leave him to figure it out alone, but I know that it's something he and his family have to talk about.

We stand on my porch, right past eleven on a Wednesday night. I'm exhausted but in a different form.

"The timing is terrible," He sticks his hands in his pockets, "But I'm going to go ahead and say that I like you. So that you're not overthinking about whether I'm flirting or not."

Asher has always been straight to the point. Cutting out the awkward conversations and late night sessions of wondering about his actions. I like that about him even though I knew already.

The words being said out loud were a good reminder for if I do question it.

The porch light flicks on, causing us to look at the door. I hear it unlock before Candice appears. She wraps her robe tighter, mouthing an apology before closing the door again.

I laugh, shaking my head in amusement. I grip the door handle, before turning around. "I like you too," I say, refusing to laugh at how ridiculous we sound.

Asher raises an eyebrow, stepping closer to kiss my forehead. "We'll talk tomorrow, goodnight Zoey."

I wave, watching him jog towards the car still parked in the driveway.